


Hyrule Appendix

by Mordred_Dantete



Series: After the Rain [2]
Category: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Genre: appendix
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-12
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:15:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24141181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mordred_Dantete/pseuds/Mordred_Dantete
Summary: Segments of explanation and general information about the lands and people of an expanded and more populous Hyrule.  I am not a city planner or expert world builder but I am hoping these will make sense or be of interest to someone.  Parts will be added as completed with some withheld perhaps for story reveals.  Subject to edits and changes.
Series: After the Rain [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1741519





	1. Size

**Author's Note:**

> Some general notes of difference: While the in game map is perhaps one of my favorites of the Zelda era, the geography does not lend itself well to … a productive kingdom. I write this with the assumption that many of the sudden elevation changes, cliffs and restrictive zone transitions are game mechanics only and the ‘real’ kingdom of Hyrule is much more contiguous.

Since its founding, Hyrule has always been a large nation. However, with frequent strife plaguing the \Kkingdom and other adverse conditions, the size of Hyrule Proper has varied wildly throughout the centuries. Much of the time the habited part of the Kingdom, where the seat of the Monarchy was located, has shifted between Northern and Southern Hyrule with each of these regions being roughly equal in size. At the time of the Twilight Crisis, the Kingdom consisted primarily of Northen Hyrule, yet historians tell that handful of centuries previously the vast majority of the population lived in Southern Hyrule, a region now overtaken by dense forests and uninhabitable to human life. 

In terms of numbers, Northern Hyrule is approximately two hundred fifty miles from the territory beyond the mountain peaks in the North to the southernmost reaches of newly ‘annexed’ Ordona province. From East to West is a more complicated matter as the vastness of the Gerudo Desert in the West is of disputed sovereignty. As for the East, the Eldin Mountains are mostly uninhabited but for the Goron tribes who, after a point, do not answer to Hylian authority. For simplicity’s sake, excluding the oft ignored and forsaken Gerudo Desert, East to West could amount to approximately one hundred and forty miles. In terms of ‘Real World’ scope, combining Northern and Southern Hyrule translates roughly the size of Ireland

Beyond boring numbers, more important are the distinctions between the Provinces and their people.


	2. Lanayru Province

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Subject to change: Castle Town being the inner part of the capitol city, which has an overall name I have not thought of yet. Stuff about nobles. Names of places.

As is the right of Royalty we begin with Lanayru Province, the Royal Province, and the seat of power. Lanayru is by far the most populous and prosperous province in the kingdom. These factors also make Lanayru the closest governed province housing both a viceroy and a duchess in addition to the Monarchy itself. 

At its heart lies Hyrule Castle in its splendor, a jewel set in the massive city of Castle Town. Named so by tradition more than accuracy, Castle Town is the largest city in all of Hyrule and the main center for trade and commerce in the kingdom. Many of the nobility and even governors of the other provinces choose to live in Castle Town having their own manors, all in order to be on hand for courtly dealings. To see and be seen by the monarchy and the chance to seize any opportunity for influence is considered by many more valuable than the lands under their care. Court life, as in any large kingdom, is always abuzz with gossip, plots, and schemes. At times these plots can be labyrinthine, but rarely a matter of life or death. Hyrule is a peaceful kingdom down even to the plotting of most nobility. Assassinations are very rare. However character assassination and the economic or social ruin of a rival are still employed with some frequency. Physical duels are permitted amongst the young nobles or those with good cause. Duels are decided generally by touch or by wound for all but the most extreme cases. Older courtiers see the duels of the youth as frivolous thrill seeking, the illusion of danger making sweeter the peace of the kingdom.

It goes without saying (though saying it anyways) that the Castle is the seat of the Monarchy, the center of power in the kingdom where the King and / or Queen reside and deal with many of the matters for the kingdom and the court. The viceroy also resides within the castle to assist the royal family with more mundane day to day running of the kingdom.

The common people of Castle Town are a vast and varied bunch coming from all across the kingdom. Little can be said to generalize them other than to say they wish to live and work in the peace and happiness of their time, getting along day by day, enjoying life, and the love of their home. For the most part the people enjoy their lives simple, they work, they live, and they laugh together. The ever twisting games of the nobility do not affect the majority of the population much, if at all. Less common, though still quite numerous, are the ambitious ones. Many of them merchants, or some form of lesser nobility seek to raise themselves and their family higher, to be noticed or gain wealth and prestige. A handful of merchant guilds have sprung up across the city in the past decade or two, uniting people of various professions to the point they almost seem a minor court of their own. The highest level of these guilds sometimes clash with the Court itself. Aristocracy has a way of spending money faster than can be harvested from their lands, so the buying and selling of debt is one way an enterprising individual can begin to finesse their way to influence and wealth. Of course such endeavors also have the possibility of ending in utter ruin, but no fortune was ever made without risk.

Further West the province also includes Lake Hylia and all the towns and villages surrounding those thriving waters. The shores of Lake Hylia are encompassed on all sides by villages and towns. On the far west side the villages are the smallest, growing in size and relative wealth until reaching the east bank and the city by name of Tittari. This city acts as a hub or buffer so to speak between those competitive towns and the rest of the kingdom. In addition, Tittari holds the seat of the duchy making it almost a province in its own right, overseeing matters directly while leaving the monarch and viceroy to deal primarily with the machinations of court. The people of these villages are ambitious considered by some to be greedy or money grubbing. The common culture of each village is to gather enough wealth to move east, to the next largest town, settle down, and do it all again. It is considered very bad form to skip ahead straight toward the goal of Tittari. Those who skip a town are considered ones who do not attend to the details, are liable to make mistakes, or otherwise generally untrustworthy. As of yet, those who have made it all the way to Tittari have not decided what the goal should be from there. Many set out into the kingdom as traveling merchants, seeking to barter and buy their way to fortune across the kingdom as a whole, ever moving to the next deal.

The province stretches north to include the fertile fields along Zora’s River as well as including Zora’s Domain. Unfortunately the transition from Southern to Northern Hyrule took a steep toll on the Zroas. The migration north as well as the increased annexation of the vast lakes pushed the Zora out of much of their territory. The increasing population of Hylians pushed them further to the cliffs and rivers in the north leaving them little room to multiply. Their influence and numbers dwindled over the centuries resulting in their own King to bow to Hyrule’s power and accept vassalage. The Zora are now but a shadow of their former selves and while they maintain their own monarchy, they have but little remaining influence over the Hylians. Their fate often left to the whims of the current Hylian rulers. In the years before the Twilight Crisis the King of Hyrule showed favor to the Zora, bringing an ambassador to the royal Court that their voices may be heard directly.


	3. Eldin Province

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Subject to change: Names of places.

While the royals and nobility reside in Lanayru holding stability and lauding their own importance, the Eldin Province quietly pushes along progress, prosperity, and security for the entire kingdom. Eldin is the heart of innovation and industry. The residents of Eldin consider the Province the beating heart of Hyrule. The mountains are rich with ore that seems without end, and the forges are lit with the fires of Death Mountain itself. However, at its heart, Eldin is a traditional place, a duchy in its own right by population, power, and history.

Most prominent is Kakiriko, a small city at the foot of the mountains, and the first place travelers reach in the province. As with most of the provinces, the capital or principal city is a buffer or blending space between the kingdom as a whole and the specialties of the province. Wagons laden with goods come and go from Kakiriko constantly, bringing in food, money, and raw materials, then leaving laden with worked goods, tools, or weapons of all kinds. Few forges actually work in Kakiriko itself, though all have a stall or shop somewhere along the main thoroughfare between the city gates and the dozen or so inns set up to house the endless stream of merchants and travelers. 

Spreading out from Kakiriko are paths and roads up further into the foothills and mountains. Smoke rises ever from forges, and the sound of hammering is constant. Further east the forges give way to the mines where the brave or desperate toil day after day, delving deep into the mountains to be rewarded with the bounty of ores and gemstones. Iron runs rich throughout the mountains but silver is also abundant. Most smiths see working silver as a frivolous endeavor. Making things of function is their passion. Strong tools to endure the hardest work. Eldin smiths produce swords, spears and arrowheads as well as impenetrable mail and plate armor for both the local militias, and fill lucrative contracts with Hyrule’s standing army. To protect one’s home and nation, to facilitate the work and labor of others are all seen as noble and worthy goals to the people of Eldin. However, even the most practical and stubborn of these smiths can not deny the profits made by those who work in silver, either selling the refined ingots to the Zora for their intricate craftsmanship, or making trinkets and gaudy devices for the nobility.

While few of them live in Kakiriko, the Gorons are the principal population of the Eldin Mountain range. The further the villages stretch into the mountains the fewer Hylians, and the more Gorons there become. As the mountain paths give way to the sweltering lanes of Death Mountain itself, the lands belong exclusively to the Gorons and their tribes. The bravest miners of Hyrule, delving as deep as they can are but casual spelunkers to the Goron. The greatest smiths Kakiriko can boast are apprentices at best from the prestigious Goron forges. 

Self sufficient and as stubborn as the rocks they so closely resemble, the Goron need little from Hyrule and often have little to do with the workings of the kingdom itself. The Goron live peacefully along side the Hylians, respecting the strong and protecting the weak. Overwhelmingly, the Goron are very affable if slow to trust, dear friends and terrible enemies. Further East of Death Mountain, beyond the reach of royal influence, Goron tribes burrow deep into the rock completely isolated from Hyrule. 

To the East beyond the Eldin Mountains lies the Kingdom of Terrin, Hyrule’s most direct neighbor and ancient ally. While the Eldin Mountain peaks are relatively small the terrain between the kingdoms is treacherous and full of sudden drops, switchbacks, and rockslides, making contact infrequent. Furthermore the narrow passes and mutual alliances with the Goron tribes make moving armies between the kingdoms virtually impossible, ensuring peace between the kingdoms as far as historical records go. While difficult, the route between the kingdoms is made at times by enterprising merchants in good standing with the Goron.


End file.
